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- [00:03]
Peter Biello
Welcome to the Joy to Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, Valdosta residents fight a proposed data center Senator Jon Ossoff makes his case to rural voters and cuts to federal disaster relief programs have made El Nino a greater public health risk.
- [00:22]
Dr. Alonzo Plough
That's compounded by the cuts to your state and local health departments around emergency preparedness, response and monitoring and collecting data to help understand the impact of climate change on health.
- [00:37]
Peter Biello
Today is Monday, July 20th. I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. Three former Washington county sheriff's deputies whose attempted detention of a mentally ill man in 2017 ended in his death now claim they are immune from a civil lawsuit. GPB's Grant Blankenship reports.
- [01:01]
Grant Blankenship
Rhett Scott, Lee Copeland and Michael Howell were eventually found not guilty of felony murder last fall in connection to the summer 2017 tasing death of Yuri Lee Martin. The then deputies attempted to detain Martin after he asked a homeowner for a drink of water during an over 30 mile walk on a rural road, which resulted in a suspicious person call. The federal civil suit filed by Martin's sister echoes many of the arguments, which ultimately failed in state court. Now the three deputies have filed a motion arguing that suit be dismissed. They claim they have qualified immunity from responsibility for Martin's death since they suspected he was committing a crime. During the murder trial, defense attorneys argued Martin broke state law dealing with where pedestrians can walk on a roadway. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.
- [01:44]
Peter Biello
Secrecy around a data center project in Valdosta isn't stopping neighbors from fighting it. Lowndes county officials approved a rezoning for the roughly 700 acre project a year ago. The but since then, project critics, including Michael Knoll, say the developer has been stonewalling the community.
- [02:01]
Michael Knoll
They're pretty quiet about what they're doing, where they're at in the process of their negotiations when it comes to the sale of the land. What the outcomes were of the feasibility study.
- [02:15]
Peter Biello
So far, there's no application for the project or a local data center ordinance. But Noel and other activists aren't waiting for the project's next move to make theirs.
- [02:25]
Michael Knoll
We as loud citizens against data centers only really learned about this maybe in late November and got organized in early December and have been pretty much doing what we can to not only educate and inform our citizens but also really our county commissioners as well as the city council folks about what data centers are all about.
- [02:47]
Peter Biello
He and others are concerned about the impacts to water, property values, energy demand and climate change, among other issues. Their group, Lowndes County Against Data Centers, is planning another town hall meeting about the project in August. A northwest Georgia state lawmaker could face civil liability for failing to call 911 at a crime scene. The Georgia Court of Appeals last week ruled that Cedartown State Representative Trey Kelly must face a lawsuit over his response to a 2019 fatal hit and run. The case involves a driver who struck a bicyclist. Instead of calling 911, the driver called his attorney, State Representative Kelly, who went to the scene and Instead of calling 911, called another attorney and the Cedartown police chief. A judge threw out a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct against Kelly in 2021. GPB has reached out to Kelly for comment. Climate change experts are warning about the potential health impacts of a rare Super El Nino in the coming months. GPB's Ellen Eldredge reports.
- [04:02]
Ellen Eldredge
The Super El Nino could usher in extreme weather, including heavy storms across the South. Recent federal cuts to departments providing information and help during emergencies put the public's health at risk. That's according to Dr. Alonzo Plough with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He says when Georgia sees another weather cris, FEMA will have a diminished ability to help.
- [04:24]
Dr. Alonzo Plough
That's compounded by the cuts to your state and local health departments around emergency preparedness, response and monitoring and collecting data to help understand the impact of climate change on health.
- [04:38]
Ellen Eldredge
Plough says the rolling back of rules and regulations meant to address the warming planet will also increase the risk of future weather events. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldredge.
- [04:50]
Peter Biello
U.S. senator Jon Ossoff spoke to a crowd of supporters in Rome on Friday to make his pitch to voters outside of metro Atlanta, GPB Sarah Kalis reports.
- [04:58]
Sarah Kalis
Ossoff emphasized his work helping rural parts
- [05:01]
Jon Ossoff
of the state for far too long, no matter which party has been in power, it's been metro Atlanta and not smaller cities in rural parts of Georgia that have gotten the love and attention that you deserve. And Rafael and I together have worked to change that.
- [05:15]
Sarah Kalis
He pointed specifically to new medical programs, the bipartisan infrastructure law and investment from solar companies in North Georgia. His opponent, U.S. representative Mike Collins, campaigned heavily outside of metro Atlanta during the primary election and the Republican runoff. The two candidates will face off Nov. 3. Collins has the backing of President Donald Trump, who Ossoff has been a fierce critic of. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kalis in Rome.
- [05:41]
NPR Planet Money Host
Each story you hear on Planet Money starts with a what happens if we refund tariffs, tariffs. Why are groceries so expensive? At npr, we stand for your right to be curious because the forces shaping our world can be hard to see. Follow NPR's Planet Money wherever you get your podcasts and start seeing how the economy really works.
- [06:10]
Peter Biello
A federal judge today put a two week pause on the mega merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery of allowing states challenging the deal more time to see their case through in court. The case is being watched closely in Atlanta, a hub for Warner Bros. Discovery. Georgia is not among the dozen states seeking to block the merger. MARTA said Friday it moved 4.7 million people during the 35 days the world cup was in Atlanta. That included trips to World cup matches, fan festivals, concerts and the Peachtree Road Race. The transit agency says the busiest day was June 24th for the Morocco versus Haiti match. About 240,000 people traveled with Marta. That's more than two and a half times the number of riders on a typical weekday. No major crimes were reported on MARTA during the time period. MARTA came into the World cup amid a federal investigation after two major crimes occurred in the weeks leading up to the tournament. MARTA said they had hundreds of their police officers, with the help of law enforcement from Denver, transit and local jurisdictions working during the World Cup. Georgia gas prices have jumped 20 cents per gallon over the past week, Auto club AAA said today the state average for a gallon of regular is now $3. 76. That's $0.20 less than the national average. AAA says continuing instability along the Strait of Hormuz is contributing to the increase at the pump. An Atlanta organization advocating for formerly incarcerated women honored the anniversary of John Lewis death Friday with a march to the state Capitol. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more on the event.
- [07:50]
Amanda Andrews
Organizers with Women on the Rise marched from Atlanta City hall to the state Capitol and the Fulton County Courthouse. The walk was part of a nationwide weekend of action called Good Trouble Lives On. Leaders aim to raise awareness on domestic violence and parole reform for Georgia women impacted by the justice system. Executive Director Robin Hassan Simpson says she wants their voices heard by officials on all levels.
- [08:13]
Robin Hassan Simpson
So instead of people like assuming what we need as formerly incarcerated people, we're able to say no. This is what would have kept me out of jail. This is what kept me out of prison. So that's why we say we're the subject matter experts, so we should always be included in any decisions that being made.
- [08:26]
Amanda Andrews
Women on the Rise has been led by women impacted by the criminal justice system since its founding in 2013. For GPB news, I'm Amanda Andrews.
- [08:36]
Peter Biello
The Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta kicked off 30 years ago this week. The Games left a permanent impression on the city, both for the architecture it left behind and the trauma of the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park. Our regular commentator, Salvation south editor Chuck Reese, was in Atlanta at the time. Chuck, thank you so much for speaking with me today.
- [08:55]
Chuck Reese
Glad to be here, Peter, as always.
- [08:58]
Peter Biello
Chuck, I understand you worked at Centennial Olympic park during the entire Olympics. What was your role there?
- [09:03]
Chuck Reese
That was back in the days when I was working in corporate communications and I was an employee of the Coca Cola Company. And almost everyone who worked in the corporate communications department for the company at that time were assigned to work throughout the Games at Centennial Olympic park because the company had put up a consumer experience called Coca Cola Olympic City, where, you know, people could come and, you know, do a variety of, like, Olympic event simulations and things like that. A lot of what my job turned out to be was giving visiting journalists tours through the park and things like that. I remember taking Tim Russert, the lady host of Meet the Press, on a tour of Centennial Olympic Park.
- [09:58]
Peter Biello
And what was your experience of the park bombing?
- [10:02]
Chuck Reese
My experience of the park bombing did not happen until the next morning. We had closed down Coca Cola Olympic City, and I was taking MARTA back and forth to the park from my home in Candler Park. At the time I walked from Coca Cola Olympic City was on the northern end of Centennial Olympic Park. And, you know, the subway station, the MARTA station, was at CNN Center. So I walked the length of the park, got on the train and went home. And the next morning I was awakened by a phone call. One of my colleagues at Coke told me I didn't have to come in that morning. And I was like, oh, you've changed the schedule. And he said, no, a bomb went off in the park last night and it's closed. And I got the newspaper, turned the television on, you know, read some details about the bombing and realized that I had walked right past the spot where the bomb went off about 20 minutes before it went off. But I didn't hear about it until the next morning. And it was very scary. It's one of those things where you look back at it and I've had more such experiences in my life. I mean, I was living about a half mile north of the World Trade Centers in New York City on 9 11, and, you know, you have these sort of close encounters with really disastrous happenings, and they really do shake you. They stay with you.
- [11:46]
Peter Biello
What's your memory of how the Olympics managed to resume after that bomb went off?
- [11:53]
Chuck Reese
I remember being amazed at how quickly people's attention turned back to the Games themselves and to the various events that were going on. As I remember it, the only day I did not report to work was the day after the bomb. You know, we went back to Coca Cola Olympic City, back to Centennial Olympic Park. The very next day they had. I do remember there were some crime scene tapes still up around the bombing site. But, you know, we went back very quickly and people were going to events. And that was one of the things that. That I actually found kind of heartening, you know, because there were so many people from all over the world there, right? And they had tickets to see their nations play, you know, various sports and compete in the various events, and they kept going on about their business. They were there to see the Games, and, you know, we were there to host them in our city. So we kept doing what we were supposed to do.
- [13:05]
Peter Biello
Well, GPB regular commentator, Salvation south editor Chuck Reese, thank you so much for speaking with me.
- [13:10]
Chuck Reese
Glad to do it, Peter. Anytime.
- [13:15]
Peter Biello
And that is a wrap on this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check out gpb.org news. Remember to subscribe to this podcast. We'll be back in your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon. You could Also check out GPB's other podcasts, including Salvation South Deluxe, hosted by Chuck Reese, who we just heard from. If you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email. The address is Georgia todaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thank you again for listening. We will see you tomorrow.